U.S. President Donald Trump has said he will implement ’severe tariffs’ on Russia if they do not make progress on peace talks with Ukraine by August 9.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff met Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin on Wednesday as Washington’s deadline for Russia to reach a peace deal with Ukraine approaches. Details have not yet emerged of what they discussed.
Trump said on July 14 that he would impose “severe tariffs” on Russia unless a deal on ending the conflict was reached within 50 days. On July 28, he shortened the deadline to “about 10 or 12 days,” meaning he wants peace efforts to make progress by Aug. 7-9.
Early on Wednesday morning, the TASS news agency posted footage on its Telegram channel of Witkoff going for a stroll through Zaryadye Park, close to the Kremlin, with Kirill Dmitriev, Putin’s envoy for investment and economic cooperation.
Dmitriev has played a central role in the direct peace talks between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul.
Three rounds of peace negotiations have been held in Turkey this year, the most recent round occurring on July 23. Talks have yet to result in any meaningful progress toward ending the conflict.
Putin said on Aug. 1 that he hoped the peace talks would continue. He added that Russia was making progress in the ongoing conflict, signaling no change in policy despite the looming U.S. sanctions deadline.
Ukraine has been gradually losing territory on the front line, but there is no sign of its defensive line completely collapsing, and Kyiv continues to mount drone attacks deep inside Russia, causing a fire at a railway station near Volgograd on Monday.
For months, Ukraine has been urging an immediate cease-fire, but Russia says it wants a lasting settlement, not a pause.
Putin Wants ‘Quiet’ Negotiations
On Aug. 1, Putin said, “In order to approach the issue peacefully, it is necessary to conduct detailed conversations. And not in public, but this must be done calmly, in the quiet of the negotiation process.”
The sanctions threatened by the Trump administration could include secondary tariffs targeting countries that buy oil and gas from Russia, including China and India.
